The first Love International proved that paradise can be found

The taxi driver whisking us to Barbarellas on Sunday night did so at breakneck speed. Maybe he sensed our anticipation for the tantalising back-to-back set taking place, or maybe he was just keen for his next fare? Whatever the reason, it set us in good stead for the evening. Careering wildly round winding roads in the dead of night had us pumped full of adrenaline as we entered the club, and Ben UFO and Craig Richards ensured these levels did not dip from there.

Barbarellas is the offsite club that hosts some of Love International’s nighttime programme, located just a 15 or 20 minute car ride away (depending on the recklessness of your driver). It’s a wonderful space: open-aired and flanked with benches and chill out areas around the outskirts. The centrepiece is a broad pit of a dancefloor that’s well designed to contain atmosphere. The mood among dancers present for Bristol-based party Just Jack’s Sunday night takeover was absolutely electric, with the aforementioned headline pair rotating freely into the small hours.

As the tightly-wound power of ‘What Is The Time, Mr Templar?’ sent energy coursing through the ranks, a four-person high shoulder stack was erected on the dancefloor. It’s definitely up there with the most amusing, and downright impressive feats we’ve seen at a festival, perfectly capturing Love International’s essence of blithe exuberance. Shout out to the girl at the top calmly enjoying her rocky seat five metres above the concrete floor, and even further shouts to the unit at the bottom bearing the weight and keeping the tower stable. It’s a good thing they’d disassembled by the time Oliver Huntemann & Stephan Bodzin’s ripper ‘Rubin’ was rolled out because no one stayed still and balanced as those ferocious synths tore through the floor.